Precious (Tokyo Ghoul:re - Juuzou Suzuya x Reader)

A small smile adorned your face as you walked into the CCG headquarters, humming quietly a happy tune to yourself as you stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to the right floor. You hadn't had to wait long before the high-pitched ring of a bell informed you that you'd arrived at your destination and you quickly stepped out of the elevator, hearing the sound of its doors shutting behind you. Promptly heading over to Juuzou's desk, you couldn't help that the little smile on your face started to grow bigger as you stole a glance at the plastic bag you were carrying. You were eager to give your raven-haired co-worker the present you'd prepared for him and couldn't wait to see his reaction to it.

The ruby-eyed ghoul investigator was quick to notice you as you waltzed over to his cubicle and beamed at you as soon as you came to a stop in front of him. Flashing you a wide grin, Juuzou welcomed you in his usual cheerful tone.
"Good morning, (f/n)-chan!"

The young man's energetic demeanour caused you to giggle a little bit before you greeted him back, giving him a quick wave with your hand.
"Good morning, Juuzou."

You, then, pulled a neatly wrapped box out of the plastic bag you held and passed it to the curly-head.
"This is for you. Happy Valentine's Day."

Upon spotting your gift, Juuzou's eyes instantly widened and began to sparkle with excitement. The already wide grin on his face grew even bigger as he marvelled at your present and seeing the investigator's adorable response, you couldn't but let out a small chuckle.

"Thank you, (f/n)-chan! You're the best!~"
Thanking you his trademark sing-sang voice, the stitched male flashed you one of his brightest smiles before turning all of his attention back to the gift, immediately starting to unwrap it.

You watched Juuzou in anticipation as he removed the colourful ribbons which decorated the box, agog to see his reaction to your present.
The day before, you'd spent more than five hours standing in your kitchen and baking numerous sweets. Knowing that your raven-haired co-worker loves zoos – especially because of the giraffes –, you'd shaped your cookies and cupcakes like different animals. You'd got so carried away with all the baking and decorating that you'd even made exhibits out of cake base for your edible little animals and before you'd known it, you'd created an entire dessert zoo.
You were honestly quite happy and proud about how your self-made Valentine's present had turned out and hoped that Juuzou would like it as well.

However, all your worries were blown away the second Juuzou took the lid off of the box.
The ruby-eyed male gasped as he caught sight of the carton's content and clapped his hands happily together while letting out several cries of joy.
"YEAY! This looks amazing, (f/n)-chan!"

Not wasting another second, Juuzou quickly grabbed one the giraffe-shaped cookies and popped it into his mouth, savouring the sweet flavour.
"Shoo delishioush.~"

Relieved that the stitched ghoul investigator obviously enjoyed your present, you secretly breathed a sigh before giving Juuzou yet another smile.
"That's good to hear. I'm glad that you like it."

Just then, the alarm of your cell phone went off and you quickly checked the electronic device, reading the words 'Don't forget meeting' that had popped up on the screen.

You let out a small yelp of surprise and hurriedly stored your mobile phone away in your pocket. You'd been so focused on giving Juuzou your Valentine’s present that you really had forgotten about the conference – fortunately, you'd set the alarm.
"Well, I'm off. The meeting I have to attend is about to begin. I guess I'll see you later?"

Juuzou, who'd been totally absorbed in devouring your home-made sweets, looked up upon hearing your goodbye and promptly swallowed the last cookie in his mouth before seeing you off, giving you one last bright smile and a wave with his hand.
"Yup, let's meet up for lunch!"

"Sure thing, I'd love to."
You nodded your head in agreement, already awaiting your lunch date with Juuzou with pleasant anticipation.
Valentine's Day couldn't get any better.



*****



~1 month later~


"Gooood morning, (f/n)-chan!~"
Juuzou greeted you with a bright smile on his face as soon as you'd entered the CCG headquarters, giving you a quick, yet tight embrace.

You raised your brows ever so slightly in confusion at the raven-haired male's uncharacteristic behaviour. It wasn't his overly cheerful greeting that caused you to be suspicious, nor his over-punctuality but the fact that the ghoul investigator had literally greeted you first thing when you'd entered your department through the door.
Wondering about the possible reason for Juuzou's eagerness to salute you this early, you couldn't help the blunt undertone in your voice as you greeted him back.
"Good morning, Juuzou. What's going on?"

The stitched male let out a small chuckle upon hearing your question (which, honestly, had sounded rather like an accusation than an actual question) but ignored it completely as he responded you.
"Stretch out your hand."

"Eh?"
You only managed to blink, totally taken aback by the sudden command.

The ruby-eyed male, however, simply repeated his request, a smug grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Just stretch out your hand."

"...okay."
You merely shrugged with your shoulders and did like you were told. Even though you didn't have the foggiest idea about what Juuzou's plan could be, you decided to play along. One reason for your decision was your deep trust in the young investigator. The other reason was that you knew exactly that you didn't have another choice anyway – there was no way to escape Juuzou's game.
Breathing a sigh, you cocked your head slightly to the side and awaited the raven-haired man's following action.

But what came next was totally unexpected – at least for you.

"Happy White Day, (f/n)!"
Juuzou's joyful exclamation ringed through your ears as he clipped a small bracelet around your wrist, his grin only widening upon seeing the surprised expression on your face.

"Is...is this bracelet really for me?"
You were caught off guard. You surely hadn't expected the ruby-eyed male to give you something for White Day and so you gawked in awe at the accessory around your wrist, regarding it intently.
The bracelet was slender and made out of silver; several self-made pendants which were shaped like tiny giraffes were attached to it and made the armlet look extremely cute. The small animals were all painted in different colours – while one giraffe was yellow with green and orange freckles, another one was blue and had purple freckles. The bracelet was really one of a kind.

The raven-haired ghoul investigator nodded his head in confirmation, replying to your question in a cheery voice.
"Of course it is.~"

Upon hearing Juuzou's affirmation, you couldn't stop yourself from grinning like a Cheshire cat. Overwhelmed by happiness, due to the fact that the ruby-eyed male had got you something for White Day, you tackled the ghoul investigator down in a tight hug.
"Thank you so much, Juuzou! It's a wonderful present."

"You're welcome!"
Juuzou happily returned your gesture and gave your body a light squeeze. He, then nuzzled his cheek slightly against yours, purring out a query.
"Are we going to get some donuts for lunch?"

As the stitched male's question reached your ears, you couldn't but let out a small chuckle. Pulling away from Juuzou, you flashed him a warm smile before answering in the affirmative.
"Sure! And you know what? They're on me!"

"Yeay! Thanks, (f/n)-chan!"

You grinned to yourself, hearing Juuzou's chipper thanks.
This was by far the best White Day you'd ever had.







~later that day~


"(f/n)!"

You were kneeling on the ground, clutching your bracelet tightly and pressing in against your chest when you heard your name being shouted. Your eyes widened promptly as you looked up, seeing how Juuzou slit with his Quinque a ghoul that had apparently been about to attack you. The clean cut was lethal and the carnivorous monster was dead before its body even hit the ground.
Looking over his shoulder, the ruby-eyed investigator shot you a questioning look, his blood-smeared weapon still in his hands.
"What were you doing?"

You flinched, hearing Juuzou's rather harsh undertone and merely managed to stutter your reply, trying to cover the seriousness of the situation with a small laugh.
"I-I'm sorry! I, um...I guess I got kind of distracted, huh?"

"Kind of distracted? More likely, you totally had your head in the clouds."
The stitched male turned around and cocked his head slightly to the side, taking a loose strand of his messy hair between two fingers and starting to twirl it.

Still kneeling on the ground, you began to fidget with the hem of your shirt as you ruefully apologised to your colleague.
"...I'm sorry. I'll be more careful from now on."

"You should be. You're a Rank 1 Investigator, after all."
Juuzou stated matter of factly as he made a quick movement with his hand, stowing his Quinque back in a suitcase.

"...I know."
Letting yet another sigh escape your lips, you hung your head in embarrassment, ashamed that you'd acted so reckless despite your rank. You really should had known better than to do something as careless as picking up a bracelet in the middle of a fight.

"What were you doing anyway?"

Hearing the stitched male's question, you stood up and showed him the silver accessory he'd given you before putting it back around your wrist, smiling faintly at the sight of the colourful giraffes.
"I was getting the bracelet you'd given me on White Day. It fell off of my wrist during the battle."

"Well, that's a stupid reason to get yourself nearly killed."
The raven-haired man noted with a completely blank expression on his face while playing around with some stitches on his right hand, not even bothering to look at you.

"Excuse me?"
You couldn't tell whether Juuzou was angry, disappointed or actually worried about you. His face had been completely deadpan throughout the whole time, making it impossible for you to read his emotions. However, for some reason you felt kind of offended and began to defend yourself and your action as anger started to boil up inside of you.
"This bracelet is really special to me! So it's totally understandable that I'd pick it up!"

Letting go of the red threads that were stitched into his hand, the ghoul investigator glanced up, giving you a somewhat confused look.
"What's the big deal? It's just a bracelet."

"It isn't just a bracelet."
You quickly corrected him before crossing your arms over your chest and letting out a small snort.
"It was you who made it and gave it to me and this makes it important to me."

"So what?"
The young investigator asked, shrugging his shoulders.

You huffed at the ruby-eyed man's question, disgruntled by his lack of comprehension. Even though you knew exactly that Juuzou had already been caring about you for a long time, you couldn't but think of the bracelet as something special – it was rare for the stitched investigator to show his emotions in this way, after all.
"Don't you understand at all what I mean?"

"That's not it."
Juuzou retorted, knitting his eyebrows ever so slightly before continuing to speak in a deep voice.
"It's you who doesn't get it."

You flinched, hearing Juuzou's angered undertone. The ghoul investigator had never talked with you like that before and so you couldn't hide the surprise on your face. Just as you were about to open your mouth, wanting to ask the stitched male about the meaning of his latest statement, Juuzou's expression instantly changed – a wide smile appeared on his face as he quickly grabbed one of your hands, pulling you against his body.
"The bracelet would be useless if you were dead, isn't that so?"

You didn't managed to do anything but gasp in shock because of Juuzou's sudden action, only slowly realising what was going on before the ghoul investigator resumed talking.
"You're more precious than some silly bracelet, (f/n)."

Finally understanding what Juuzou meant to say, you flashed the male in front of you a warm smile, giving his hand a tight squeeze.
"Thanks, Juuzou."

The stitched man happily returned your gesture while letting out a content chuckle.
But then, his expression promptly turned into a serious one and this caused your heart to sink for a second. His next question, however, explained his behaviour and freed you from your worries.
"We're still getting those donuts you promised me, right?"

Seeing like Juuzou pursed his lips, you couldn't but let out a loud laugh and nod your head in agreement. You'd nearly forgotten that you'd been about to get lunch with the ruby-eyed male before some ghouls had attacked you all of a sudden.
"Of course."

"Yeay.~ Let's go, then! I don't want to miss the lunch-special."
Letting out a chipper cheer, Juuzou swiftly started to head to the donut shop, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Donuts! Donuts! Donuts!"

"Ah! W-we have to report the incident bef-"
You started to speak but stopped yourself, a small sigh leaving your lips. There was no way you would be able to convince Juuzou to go back to the headquarters and report the incident with the ghouls. Knowing that it would be impossible to stir him from his resolve, you gave in, muttering under your breath.
"Oh, whatever."

Seeing that the raven-haired investigator was already about to turn the next corner, you hurriedly grabbed your own Quinque which was still laying on the ground before rushing after him.
"Hey, Juuzou! Wait up for me!"

The ruby-eyes male stopped walking and turned around, waiting chuckling for you to catch up. As you reached Juuzou's side, the stitched curly-head grabbed your free hand, holding tightly onto it while continuing his way to the donut shop with you in tow. Hearing the ringing laughter that escaped the ghoul investigator's throat upon seeing the deep blush that had formed on your cheeks, you couldn't but crack a smile before beginning to laugh as well, overjoyed to be finally able to hold hands with your beloved man.

Yup, this was definitely the best White Day ever.~